Month: December 2014

In any farmyard, on Christmas Eve, if you are very lucky, you can hear the animals talk.

It happens only on this most magical of nights.

And it happens only in that moment just before midnight

when the world is silent, waiting.

On Christmas Eve, at midnight, legend says that animals can talk. They speak to remember the part that animals played on the very first Christmas – where a donkey carried the baby’s mother, horses gave up their stall and other animals provided soft bedding. Even the mouse and the spider did their bit, and the rooster crowed to herald the news. Proud of the part their forbears played, the animals celebrate on Christmas Eve.

One Night is a delightful, gentle Christmas tale with the focus squarely on the animals, though two spreads show Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus, and the final spread shows all the animals gazing at the sleeping baby.

The text is not overdone, using the animals’ dialogue to show their pride, and the watercolour and pencil illustrations are a perfect complement with soft, expressive animals and night time hues.

I slid down the icy balustrade outside our town house. The chill of the evening fairly took my breath away, then, I was airborne. I landed in the flurry of snow at the base of the stairs, startling the band of carol singers who had just crossed the street.
Father opened the door and took in the scene. ‘Please forgive us,’ he said to the carol singers. ‘My singers who had just crossed the street.
Father opened the door and took in the scene. ‘Please forgive us,’ he said to the carol singers. ‘My daughter has no fear.’ Michael Pryor The Spirit of Christmas

For adults who remember the Christmas Annuals of their childhoods, Once Upon a Christmas will feel familiar, while for children who may not have encountered such an offering, it will prove an unexpected treasure. With over 150 pages of stories, poems, illustrations and more, the anthology celebrates a huge variety of Christmas traditions and imaginings.

The stories are from different cultures, and represent both Australian Christmas settings and traditions as well as those from around the world and in different time periods. The range of genres is also wide including historical fiction, modern fiction, speculative fiction, nonfiction, humour, and poetry. Black and white illustrations throughout are complemented by coloured plates in the centre of the book. Creators whose work appears in the book include Susanne Gervay, Ursula Dubosarsky, Duncan Ball, Sophie Masson and more.

An hour before the biggest gig of our career, we sent a roadie on stage and instructed him to stretch a silver line of gaffer tape down the centre of it.
Rose and I watched from the wings.
‘That’s my side,’ she said pointing to the left, which was always her side. ‘Do not come over that line.’
Less than forty-five minutes after that I tried to strangle her in the people mover. Then I strapped on my guitar and walked out into the lights.

Nina Dall is one half of teen band The Dolls. The other half is her cousin Nina. They’ve grown up idolising their Aunt Alannah, and now they are determined to emulate her successes. But along the way, it seems they are also bent on copying a lot of her less stellar moments too – with alcohol, drugs, sex and family feuds all making big bumps on the road to success.

Cherry Bomb offers an uncomfortable, yet intriguing glimpse at the workings of the music industry, with extracts from Alannah’s autobiography at the start of each chapter highlighting similarities and differences with the past. Nina Dall is not a terribly endearing character, but she is honest and witty, and her insecurities, issues and childhood history of abuse draws the reader in as she lurches from crisis to crisis.

Likely to most appeal to older teens and under thirties, as well as anyone with an interest in the music industry.

There is a monster under my Christmas tree who farts.
You don’t want his help putting up the star.

It doesn’t matter how hard you try to be good when you are plagued by a farting monster who seems intent on getting you put on Santa’s naughty list. the young unnamed protagonist of this funny picture book sees (and smells) the monster under the Christmas tree, in his room where he should be wrapping up presents, even in Santa’s grotto when he goes to have his photo taken. What if Santa thinks it’s him, and doesn’t leave him any presents?

There is a Monster Under My Christmas Tree Who Farts is a humorous tale which will appeal to pre an early schoolers who will enjoy the fun of (and probably relate to) the dilemma of who to blame for stinky smells, and the resolution on the final page, which shows the monster and Santa out-stinking each other under the Christmas tree.

One kiss for baby, under mistletoe.
Two kisses for baby, catching falling snow.

Playing under mistletoe, singing with the choir or jingling Christmas bells, Christmas kisses abound in this gentle rhyming offering. Counting from one to ten, and finishing with the children (and their animal friends) asleep on Christmas Eve, the text would make a perfect bedtime wind down in the lead up to Christmas.

The pastel toned illustrations are adorable, with the numbers hanging in large baubles, the kisses snowflake adorned love hearts and the characters – two older children, baby and a rabbit and a fox – happily preparing for Christmas.

This little piggy went singing
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy had noodles
This little piggy had none
And this little piggy went toot, toot, toot
all the way home.

Inspired by the traditional ‘This Little Piggy’ rhyme, this delightful Christmas picture book is full of action and humour and little Christmassy details. Every spread has four pigs doing various Christmas related things, and a fifth making music ‘all the way home.’ The five pigs take turns so that it is not the same pig who stays home, or plays music, or has none. As well as making music, the pigs trim the tree, bake, post Christmas cards, eat Christmas treats and more.

The pigs are full of life and. just simply, adorable. Spotting the mouse-friend appears on every spread will entertain young readers.

A lovely way to celebrate Christmas, and also suitable for year-round reading, This Little Piggy Went Singing would make a special gift for a toddler.

It took slightly under eight hours for Melbourne to die.
When Pandora Jones thought back to that day – something she did often – there were large holes in her memory. She definitely remembered sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast and listening to the news on the radio, her mother bustling about and packing lunch for her brother Danny.

On what begins as a fairly normal day, Pandora Jones witnesses horrific scenes of death as first a relief teacher, then everyone around her starts to cough, collapse and die. As if in a terrible nightmare, Pandora heads for home, only to witness the death of her family to the inexplicable pandemic that is wiping out much out of humanity. When she wakes up in hospital, her recollection of what has happened is vague, but finds herself one of a small group of survivors, relocated to a facility called The School. There she is trained for survival in the world as it now is. But there are secrets and contradictions, and Pan doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe.

Pandora Jones: Admission is the first instalment in a new post-apocalyptic series for teen readers, offering an absorbing blend of action, mystery and character development. While lots of questions arise, not all of them are answered, leaving lots of room for the rest of the series to do so.

Pan is an interesting viewpoint character, with a mix of strengths and failings which make her believable. Her supporting cast is also diverse, and relationships change over the course of events allowing characters to develop and readers to connect.

With two more titles to come, teen readers will be keen to follow the series.

Whoosh! A robot in a jet-powered winged suit flew straight past Jake and his friends. It looked like a cross between a person and a plane. Jake could smell the burning fuel as the robot shot upwards. The heat from the jets was so intense it almost burned the skin on his face.

Zoom! Another robot came out of nowhere.

Jake jumped as it roared by, making him spill his super-fizz swurpie all over himself. The rainbow-coloured fizzy bubbles started popping all over his pants, leaving a wet, sticky mess.

‘Great!’ he mumbled, pulling an instant-dry cloth from his shirt pocket.

He was busy trying to wipe his pants clean when Rory nudged him. Following his gaze skywards, Jake’s jaw dropped open.

Whoosh! A robot in a jet-powered winged suit flew straight past Jake and his friends. It looked like a cross between a person and a plane. Jake could smell the burning fuel as the robot shot upwards. The heat from the jets was so intense it almost burned the skin on his face.

Zoom! Another robot came out of nowhere.

Jake jumped as it roared by, making him spill his super-fizz swurpie all over himself. The rainbow-coloured fizzy bubbles started popping all over his pants, leaving a wet, sticky mess.

‘Great!’ he mumbled, pulling an instant-dry cloth from his shirt pocket.

He was busy trying to wipe his pants clean when Rory nudged him. Following his gaze skywards, Jake’s jaw dropped open.

Jake and his friends are attending the Robot Games, arena spectacular competitions and displays by the most advanced robots ever developed. But something’s is wrong with their cyborg friend Henry. It could be that he has eaten too many of the weird popping snack, Gob Pop, he seems to love. They’re not sure what’s going on with him so they take him to the nearby medical centre, despite having to miss some of the Robot Games events. Black and white images appear with each new chapter and across the bottom of each opening.

‘Jake In Space: Robot Games’ is a third instalment in a series for young readers from New Frontier Publishing. Three more titles are to be released soon. Each adventure involves Jake and his friends in a mystery that only they can solve. Each is set in a future where robots are familiar and children control their own space cars. Characters require clear-thinking skills and imagination. Action is fast-paced and there are plenty of wonderful gadgets to keep readers engaged. Recommended for newly-independent readers.

Mr Darcy is making his Christmas Pudding and all of his friends join him for the traditional Stir-Up Sunday. On Stir-Up Sunday, everyone has a turn stirring the Christmas pudding as they close their eyes and make a wish. Everyone is there, everyone except Mr Collins who has been left outside after behaving badly towards Maria.

But kind-hearted Lizzy can’t relax while Mr Collins is outside in the snow and they are warm and safe inside. Mr Darcy relents and everyone has a splendid afternoon of Christmas games and hot chocolate. Illustrations are watercolour with black outline. Some openings feature a single full scene with colours to page edge, while other openings include several smaller scenes set in white space.

This is a third picture book from Alex Field and Peter Carnavas featuring Mr Darcy, Lizzy and other characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. As with the others, Mr Darcy and the Christmas Pudding gently examines pride and prejudice and their consequences. This time, there is the addition of a Christmas tradition. Young readers need have no knowledge of the novel from which the characters are drawn to enjoy this story. It’s a tender story of family and sharing, and behaving well. Recommended for pre- and early-schoolers.

Little Koala shows his mother how he loves her. Other baby Australian animals follow suit, expressing their love for their mother in their own special ways. First the day animals, then the night animals declare and show their love. Finally, it’s bedtime for Little Koala and his Mummy shows just how much she loves her baby. Illustrations are soft watercolour with pencil outlines. Habitats are indicated in vignettes, but mostly the images are of the animals themselves. Paper stock is a rich cream, endpapers are a lovely night-blue.

This is a lovely gentle book to be shared with small children, while they are curled in the reader’s lap. Each animal shares a little of its habitat and behaviour before snuggling with mother. In the final pages, it’s made clear that no matter how much the young love their mother, their mother loves them more. An introduction to Australian animals for the very young. Recommended for pre-school children.